


Whumptober 2020 - No.24 You're Not Making Any Sense

by Jakkuor



Series: Whumptober 2020 [24]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Forced Mutism, gagged, local cat: saved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27196381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakkuor/pseuds/Jakkuor
Series: Whumptober 2020 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948606
Kudos: 1
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 2020 - No.24 You're Not Making Any Sense

Kassandra unlocks yet another door; and Hafnear enters the cell and frees the occupant of their chains. It’s an elven woman and she seems relatively unharmed. Her wrists are a little marked up from the manacles, but otherwise she looks okay.

She’s got deep green eyes and black hair, about shoulder-length. Her skin is a light brown. This must be the woman they were sent to find.

“Are you Dara?” Kass asks. 

The woman nods, eyes wide, “How did you know?” 

“Nogu sent us.”

“Oh, thank the gods.”

Hafnear helps her to her feet, “Are you hurt? I can heal you if you need to.”

“No, I’m alright. Thank you so much for helping me.” She clasps Hafnear’s hands. “I haven’t got anything to repay you with-”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says. 

She nods, smiling at the party, and hurries out. 

“Let’s keep moving,” Kass jerks a thumb over her shoulder. 

“Looks like there’s a door at the end of the hall,” Ilith points out.

Kassandra nods and draws her sword as they approach it. The slavers have been pretty vicious so far, so she wants to be ready in case anyone comes at them. She pushes open the door to find just one cell, lit by a dim lantern. She enters slowly, surveying the area. There don’t seem to be any guards. It actually looks like the cell might be empty-

And then she hears the jangle of chains and notices a huddle in the corner. It’s small and furry - a tabaxi, she thinks _.  _ It looks like a girl. A young girl, at that. Bright orange eyes look up at her, wide with terror. She’s curled up tight in a ball, arms wrapped tight around her legs. And she’s  _ covered  _ in wounds; there are quite a few on her face and the tips of dozens and dozens of others are wrapped around her emaciated sides. They look pretty fresh. Kassandra can see her ribs poking out from here. Her wrists are chained and there’s a gag tied around her head. 

“Shit. Guys, there’s a kid back here,” she calls over her shoulder. She looks back to the kid, “Hey, we’re gonna get you out, okay?”

The tabaxi doesn’t answer. She can’t obviously. 

Kass unlocks the door and opens it, wincing at the creak. The tabaxi shudders, pressing herself tighter into the corner. That sound must mean pain is coming to her. 

“It’s okay. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

The other three start to enter the room, but Kassandra holds out an arm to stop them, “Just Hafnear. I don’t think crowding her is a good idea.”

“A’ight,” Ilith shrugs, stepping back out, followed by Pelwe.

“Why just me?” Hafnear questions, tilting his head.

Kass gestures to the kid, “She needs healing. And, out of the four of us, you’re probably the least intimidating.”

“What about Pelwe?”

“...Pelwe has more knives in their pocket than the average person can fit in their bag.”

“Fair enough.”

Pelwe may be smaller, but Kass is pretty sure the bright pink tiefling will seem like he poses less of a threat. Not to mention, he’s the only one of them who can heal people.

He slips inside the cell, approaching slowly, and the tabaxi cowers in her corner, letting out a muffled whimper.

“It’s okay,” he speaks softly. “I’m gonna get rid of those chains, okay? Then I’ll heal you and we can get you out of here.”

She watches him, fur standing on end and ears laying flat against her head. She’s shaking like a leaf, and Kass can only imagine how terrified she must be.

Hafnear stoops down and unlocks the manacles, “That’s better, isn’t it? Now, I’ll just get this…” She flinches when he reaches for the gag, shutting her eyes tightly. He removes it, and Kass can now hear the panicked breaths sawing in and out of her. 

“Take a deep breath. Everything’s gonna be alright.” He casts Healing Word, muttering an incantation in Infernal, and the tabaxi is bathed in golden light. Her wounds close up and she curls in on herself further, a breathless sob escaping her.

White hot rage prickles under Kass’ skin. She’s never seen someone afraid of  _ healing  _ magic before. Whoever did this to the tabaxi deserved a much slower and painful death than they’d provided to the slavers. Kassandra bites the inside of her cheek, determined not to let the anger get the best of her. The kid needs to feel safe, and being angry won’t help her at all.

“Hafnear, how ‘bout you grab the other two and head back outside? I can take care of her.”

“Alright.”

He exits the cell, and Kass steps inside, kneeling a short distance away from the tabaxi. There are tears starting down her cheeks and she sniffles, still holding herself tightly.

“You wanna get out of here?” Kassandra gestures towards the door. 

The kid doesn’t answer. Doesn’t even move, just watches her.  _ Okay. Maybe a different tactic. _

“My name’s Kassandra. What about you?”

Still nothing. Kass bites back the urge to sigh - it’s not the tabaxi’s fault. But she needs to get out of this cell, it’s not doing her any good to sit around chains and bloodstains. Especially not when it’s her blood.

“I… I wouldn’t normally do this, but we gotta get you out of here. I’m gonna carry you out, okay?”

The tabaxi remains quiet, save for sharp, shaky breaths, but Kass was kind of expecting that at this point. So she stands, and carefully scoops her up.

Kassandra is stronger than most. She can carry the three other members of the party with relative ease; impressive, considering one of them is a half-dragonborn a few inches taller than her and about the same weight. But this girl is like picking up a feather. She barely weighs anything. She also doesn’t struggle when Kass lifts her, though she does grow more tense. 

Kass continues to talk to her as she carries her up and out of the dungeon. Mostly trying to comfort her and help her stay calm. And to keep her from looking at the corpses that litter the halls. She’s definitely seen enough shit, Kass doesn’t need to add to that. The tabaxi still won’t break her silence. But that’s okay. Kassandra is certain she’ll talk when she’s ready. She probably just needs some time.


End file.
